I am in graduate school, and I am scheduled to do a 40 minute presentation on the Saturday after my surgery on a Tuesday. I could reschedule the presentation for two weeks later, but I have two one-hour presentations that week! My professor will allow me to sit during my presentation. Do you think I'll be able to do it? I will have to make my decision by class on Saturday so that I can trade dates with someone else if I do decide to reschedule.

That's about the same as my schedule before I went back to work. Surgrey on Friday, back to work on Tuesday. I think you'll be up to the presentation, but you should plan to go easy before and after the presentation. Also, be aware of your medication. When I was at work I skipped the good stuff (liquid Vicodin) and took liquid Tylenol. Good luck!

You'll get many different answers as the recovery time varies greatly from person to person. I was not allowed to drive for two weeks post-op. And I would not have been up for any type of work 4 days post-op. Bending over to pick up my cat's bowl was hard enough. But you know yourself better than anyone. If someone drives you and you can sit for the presentation, you might be able to do it. Good luck.

I could not have done a presentation four days post-op if my life depended on it (in fact, I don't think I could have left the house, let alone present compelling, cohesive thoughts); others are on their feet in a day or two. Since you have no idea how you'll react to the pain, I would err on the side of caution and re-schedule the presentation. Good luck with your decision and upcoming surgery!

Some people will say yes you'll be up to it others will say no but really it depends on how you feel. I thought having previous surgeries that the band would be a breeze for me - Well 4 days out and I was still in a little pain but heaps of discomfort. If your sitting for the entire thing though, maybe take a tape recorder in case you miss anything and ask your lecturer if you can bring someone with you just to help out.